Russia previewed a showdown with the United Nations, United States and Western nations Wednesday over the delivery of humanitarian aid to rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey, rejecting their warnings that closing the only border crossing will (...)
The "year of wheat" campaign pushed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in jeopardy after low rainfall risked leaving an import gap of at least 1.5 million tonnes, according to preliminary estimates by officials and experts.
The agricultural blow (...)
Iconic Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef, has died today at the age of 87 in his home in Harefield outside of London, leaving behind a rich poetic legacy with 40 works of poetry and a dozen of prose, literary criticism and a memoir.
Youssef died on Saturday (...)
The head of Israel's domestic security service issued a rare warning on Saturday of possible violence during one of the most politically charged periods in decades, with the country on the verge of unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, its (...)
The head of the international chemical weapons watchdog told the U.N. Security Council that its experts have investigated 77 allegations against Syria, and concluded that in 17 cases chemical weapons were likely or definitely used.
Fernando Arias (...)
Reconstruction is a term that will keep popping up in the foreseeable future in connection with recent events in the Palestinian territories, Gaza in particular. It will certainly convey a sense of hope for the Palestinians. But the few days since (...)
A U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said Wednesday it is facing a severe funding crisis and will not be able to operate beyond July without immediate assistance.
The announcement (...)
Qatar has no plans to normalise ties with Syria, the Gulf state's foreign minister said, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office last week in an election derided by the opposition and the West as a farce.
Qatar was among (...)
The 18th edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival launched the second Global Oud Forum last week, in an event that will run until 15 June.
A statement released by the festival said, "A new series brings an ancient instrument to a growing global audience (...)
Polling stations opened on Wednesday across Syria in a presidential election that is set to usher Bashar al-Assad into a fourth term in office.
The government says the election shows Syria is functioning normally despite a decade-old war, but the (...)
Thousands of Syrians lined up outside polling stations in parts of their war-torn country to cast votes on Wednesday, in elections dismissed as a sham and guaranteed to give longtime President Bashar Assad a fourth seven-year term.
The vote's (...)
Campaign posters for Bashar al-Assad line the streets of Damascus, alongside those for two obscure rivals, but no one really doubts that Wednesday's election will extend his presidency despite 10 years of war that has left Syria in ruins.
Ruled by (...)
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have joined a nationwide strike on Tuesday that came in response to Israel's aerial campaign on Gaza Strip and crackdown on Jerusalem and the West Bank, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
According to (...)
The international community is following with great concern the development of events in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and Israel's insistence on accusing the Palestinians of escalation.
As usual, the Israeli side is striving to hide the fact that (...)
During the past couple of days, Gazan factions launched rocket attacks towards Israel in response to the latter's crackdown on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
More than 80 Palestinians have been killed as Israel responded with (...)
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that his country is ready for closer ties with its regional rival Saudi Arabia, adding that he hoped recent talks between the two sides would lead to greater stability in the region.
Mohammad Javad Zarif was (...)
At the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, Israel put up barriers outside Damascus Gate to prevent Palestinians from breaking their fast on the steps where thousands traditionally gather after the sunset prayer. However, it later (...)
Egypt has strongly condemned a renewed storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli occupation forces, and the attack on Muslim worshipers who were forcibly evacuated from the mosque.
In a statement on Monday, Egypt's Ministry of Foreign (...)
Rock-throwing Palestinians and Israeli police firing stun grenades clashed outside al-Aqsa mosque on Monday, in on-going violence in Jerusalem that has raised international concern.
Tensions in the city were particularly high as Israel was marking (...)
Police on Sunday gave the go-ahead to the annual Jerusalem Day parade, a flag-waving display of Israeli claims to all of the contested city, despite days of unrest and soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a flashpoint holy site.
Monday's parade (...)
Firefighters extinguished a blaze Sunday in a distillation unit at one of Syria's two oil refineries, Syrian state TV reported.
No one was hurt, but the fire caused some damage to the facility, a refinery official said. The TV named the cause of the (...)
Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.
At (...)
A Saudi foreign ministry official said on Friday that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran aim to reduce regional tensions, but added it was too early to judge the outcome and Riyadh wanted to see "verifiable deeds".
The comments by Ambassador Rayed (...)
Israel fired missiles toward northwest Syria early Wednesday, killing one person and wounding six, Syrian state media reported.
It was the first Israeli attack on Syria since a missile fired by Damascus struck deep inside Israel two weeks ago.
The (...)
Among the most important developments in the Syrian crisis over recent weeks has been the joint statement issued recently by the US, the UK, Germany, France and Italy on the Syrian elections scheduled this year.
The statement says that the elections (...)
